Sermons from September 2023
Seeing God’s Vineyard
This week’s Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard does not disappoint! If you strongly value “fairness,” you’re in for a ride. Can we possibly hear this parable and see anything beyond the decisively odd behavior of the land owner, whose actions might seem foolish and unfair to many? Is there a different lens through which we might view God’s vineyard and can that lens make a difference to how we see the world around us today?
Climate Change
As Christians we are asked to not only forgive others but to have forgiveness be the fabric of who we are and how we operate in the world. How do we forgive? What does non-forgiveness look like in our bodies, our lives, our families, our world? In a day and age when the cultural climate is rife with suspicion and hostility, how do we get on board with a Spirit-driven climate change that moves us from environments of vengeance to mercy?
Holy Ground
Today we explore the Bible passage about Moses and the burning bush. How does God reveal God’s self to us? Where and how are we invited to take off our shoes in recognition that we are standing on holy ground? And what are the invitations God extends to us in this time and place?
Resisting Return
It can be tempting to get stuck in a cycle of slaving away and planning for the future. The Israelites were instructed to collect only the manna that they needed. In seasons of rest, how can we be intentional with actively resting? What practices or societal pressures threaten to draw us back into the “rat race”? How should we believe or how should we live if we were to take this admonition seriously?